Chinese

Courses Information

Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases not mutually intelligible, language varieties, forming the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many minority ethnic groups in China.

About 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language. Mandarin is the national language of China and Taiwan, and is the language you should choose if travelling to those countries. Written Chinese is not the same as spoken Chinese.

In Chinese there are simplified and traditional forms of writing and each of these is spoken by different language groups. However, the spoken languages are very different. Those from Southern China use Cantonese but write Simplified. Those from Taiwan speak Mandarin but write in Traditional Chinese.

The only thing you can be sure of is that people from mainland China use Simplified Chinese characters. The course focuses on speaking in Chinese through various methods.

Students learn basic sentence structures and grammatical rules, and acquire a vocabulary of 500 words used in basic conversation. Course texts are written in Pinyin, the widely-used transliteration system for Chinese characters. This allows students to focus on improving their communication skills, both speaking and comprehension.

Course Structure

Level: Basic (HSK 1)

Deliverables: Upon successful completion of this level, the student will be able to:

• Use basic vocabulary in simple conversation.
• Understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type.
• Introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has.
• Interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Level: (HSK 2)

Deliverables: Upon successful completion of this level, the student will be able to

• Understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
• Communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.
• Describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

Level: Intermediate (HSK 3)

Deliverables: Upon successful completion of this level, the student will be able to:

• Understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.
• Deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.
• Produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest.
• Describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

Level: (HSK 4)

Deliverables: Upon successful completion of this level, the student will be able to:

• Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.
• Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.

Level: Advanced (HSK 5)

Deliverables: Upon successful completion of this level, the student will be able to:

• Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning.
• Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.
• Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.